Arcana is a webcomic by Kelly Barrie. It can be found by searching "arcana webcomic", and is usually the first link hosted on comicgenesis. While the posted pages don't cover the entire story, the creator also posted a written summary of how the story was to play out. I thoroughly enjoyed it-however I have also included a summary of the plot events here. But please- read the original comic! It's gorgeous.

"Sloane!" A cheerful voice rang out into the night. I turned to see the petite brunette running after me just as I had turned the corner to get into my dorm.

Kelly was out of breath by the time she caught up to where I stopped. I smiled down at her, looking so much like Holden as she spluttered vague insults for having not stopped sooner. A few curse words rolled into them, something she surely picked up from Caine I thought with a twinge, trying to fight the grimace my cheeks longed to pull into.

"Hey Kelly, out for a midnight run?" I asked, heaping cheeriness onto my sarcasm.

"No, running from a crazed madman with a chainsaw, a horde of zombies and a pack of werewolves and vampires." She smiled kissing my cheek, the little colour I had must have drained from my face. "I was kidding you know, because the madman with the chainsaw should take care of the zombies and the werewolves and vampires can take care of each other. We're totally in the clear." She giggled at her own joke, before shooting me a concerned look as I choked on a million words.

"You mean Harpies, not werewolves. Let's get you inside before you decide to get ridiculous boob job and run away from that masked maniac in your panties." I said, pulling my arm around her waist and attempting pull off a Holden-level dazzling smile to help with my smooth recovery.

"Harpies? Really? You're so not up to date with your geek lore." Kelly chided, leaning into me as we squeezed through the door. I guess she hadn't paid too close attention to Holden's story back then.

"Sorry Mistress, I will retake Vampires 397 next semester to correct my faux pas" I said solemnly bowing my head to her. What a joke that would be, a vampire taking a class about fictional vampires. I'd probably be sparkly before midterms came around.

"Silly, so how are you?" Kelly turned on the staircase, having stopped a few steps ahead of me she had the rare occasion of looking me straight in the eye. The clear blue shone with such innocence, such purity. It was almost painful, knowing my eyes must gleam with the exact opposite qualities.

"Oh fine, just had a boring first year CS course." I shrugged at her, and tried to continue up the stairs.

"No, I mean how you are really?" Kelly asked, pushing her finger tips lightly into my chest to stop me. My stomach lurched; all panic stations in my mind threw themselves into overload. Did she know already? Had Holden told her? Am I so hungry that she could actually feel my hunger? Had kissing my cheek been enough for my thoughts to be heard in her mind? Kelly looked up at me with worried eyes, those crystal pools beginning to ripple with concern. "What's wrong Sloane?"

"N-nothing, just thinking about that last class. I'm, I'm fine... what about you?" I managed to stammer.

"Oh... I'm fine, a bit tired I guess. It's a little hard having all day classes and a boyfriend with all night classes. Why don't you transfer to my classes? I'm sure I can turn you into a morning person." Kelly asked, holding herself close to me as we went into my dorm. I hoped vaguely, for a moment that the hint of seduction she added made up for the hurt I could hear when I hadn't really answer her question. What was I supposed to say? Oh you know, a bit bored with being cooped up inside all day every day, thirsting for blood of innocents, the usual. That moment passed quickly after highlighting the word seduction and redirecting my hunger. I felt my breathing pick up, hoping to god it hadn't audibly done so. But it was good to know my body still reacted like a twenty-one year old male's body should.

"Not to turn into a challenge for you, but changing up my entire schedule—especially at this time of semester…" I said quickly, drifting off as she took me by the wrist anyways and took off down the hall on her own. She opened the door to my room, which was surprisingly clean.

"Az must have been on a cleaning spree and Holden and Caine's rooms weren't enough..." I mused a bit numbly and sat the on the rarely made bed. Kelly closed the door behind her to spare us from Harper's obnoxious snoring coming from the living room. "So, what would milady like to do?" I tried to grin at her but rolled my eyes at myself. Milady? Charming wasn't my forte, apparently dorky as all hell was.

"Oh, n-nothing..." she said slowly, she seemed lost in her thoughts suddenly. She sat down beside me and laid back to stare at the ceiling. I leaned back on one arm so I could look down at her. Her blue eyes looked as if to be searching for something in the plain white tile above us. She stayed perfectly still, but her eyes seemed frantic and frenzied, her face remaining impeccably calm. I tilted my head at her, trying to mirror the same concern she had shown me moments ago. Thirst… hunger… lust… I sat up straight suddenly as her eyes finally shouted what they were thinking at me, what they were accusing me of. My shoulders hunched, I wanted to crumple over in shame, to stop holding up the weight of the secret of what I had become. No, if she didn't actually know now becoming a weepy cry baby was not the way to tell her. I stood up to hide that momentary battle with my shoulders, and stretched exaggeratedly.

"You should probably go home Kelly, you've got classes early in the morning don't you?" I resigned, staring out my window. I couldn't look at her, not when she was trying to seduce me and I responded with telling her she should leave. She was trying to seduce me and I was acting as though I were tired and bored. She was trying to seduce me, and I was worried about even touching her skin.

"Y-yeah, I guess you're right I better go. See you tomorrow Sloane." Kelly said quietly, I heard her get up and walk towards me. I haven't even really kissed her yet, fuck I can't even smile properly around her; the whole situation was so ridiculous.

"I'll see you later I guess" she said in the same quiet and hurt voice, putting her hand on my shoulder giving it a quick rub then turned to leave the room. The hope in that phrase shot through me like a million needles. The pain subsided to rage almost instantly, how could I treat someone like this? How could I treat anyone like this? I slammed my fist down on the window sill and spun around to stop Kelly. She hadn't left yet though, she was standing right beside me looking shocked at my outburst. I opened my mouth to start my whole spiel.

Kelly, I'm a vampire.

Kelly, I think I'm really starting to like you.

Kelly, I'm slightly bisexual.

Kelly, I think I really want to kill you.

They choked me as I seemed to try and say them all at once. A weird, feeble "ah-" being the only thing that escaped my mouth. I pulled her by her shoulders toward me and brushed my lips against hers as lightly and briefly as I could manage. I hoped dearly that the small "oh" sound she made was from the suddenness of my action, and not that she just had an intimate view of everything going on in my mind.

"Stay, I'll be back soon." I said shortly, flashed a brief smile and walked out of my room as quickly as I could.

"Holden, who is this?" Kelly asked holding open a page as she flipped through Holden's photo album.

"That's…" Holden paused awkwardly, so I glanced over at the picture Kelly had stopped on. Ah, Vincent. He hadn't really talked about him since the whole...debacle. What other word could I use for such an event? Holden finally he sighed and just smiled at Kelly.

"That's Vincent, he was my boyfriend." He said simply.

"Was? You can't leave it like that!" Kelly exclaimed, playfully hitting her friend on the arm. I supressed at chuckle at the two of them, they gossiped, they watched girly movies, Kelly wasn't really being unreasonable in her demand. But knowing the story… I rubbed my neck absently and feeling Holden's gaze follow my movement I tried to pretend I was deathly absorbed in the TV we had all previously forgotten.

"I met him 5 years ago when he- he was chasing after a girl. Instead of hurting her, he let her go in order to talk to me. And then he kept me safe from his 'owner' Adonis. Then..." Holden paused again.

"Hurting her? That didn't throw up red flags instantly in your head? What kind of guy was he?" Kelly burst in.

"He was a vampire." Holden again said simply.

"You're kidding." Kelly said incredulously. Holden merely looked at her blankly, and the hollow laugh that Kelly had tried to croak out died in her throat. "Oh. What happened?"

"He stopped feeding to be with me, but he said he had to go back. It had been weeks. When he came back though… he said it was to say good bye. He had killed Adonis, killed him by biting him. Now Adonis was part of his mind, and it scared him that he might hurt me. I tried to get him to stay, but it went wrong. A lot of things went wrong that night." Holden said with a sad voice. I contemplated leaving the room, refusing to turn and look at expression I knew he face would have.

"What does that mean? What happened?" Kelly asked, a forceful protectiveness I had only heard before from Caine brimming in her voice.

"He raped me." Holden replied. His voice was so cold, so far away. It screamed at me, screamed the loneliness and despair Holden had held onto since Vincent's death.

There was a sharp intake of breath, and Kelly leaned toward Holden and held onto his hand. But it seemed to me like she was even more interested in the story now.

"What happened then?" her voice was soft and full of anticipation.

"Then he left. I lost my mind; I was even in the mental hospital for a while. But eventually things started to find some semblance of normal. And then on my birthday, Caine found out I was gay. Well, realized is probably better I mean I flat out told him on a number of occasions. But you know Caine…" Holden laughed quietly but Kelly barely moved, glued to the edge of her seat. "And he found out about Vincent being the one who raped me. He fought with me; he would ask me "You gave your heart to a vampire, what did you expect?" For four years I covered the scars I got from that night, and as a result of that night… then on the night I finally decide to move past it all and stop hiding; Vincent came back in my life..." Holden said in a hushed voice. He fell silent; reliving the moment I'm sure.

"Go on." Kelly said quickly. I tried not to smirk at her eagerness, but a chuckle escaped me despite myself. I ended it with a drawn out sigh and looked at them, making an awkward gesture to the TV and grabbed the remote to see what else was on if only to get them to stop looking at me the way they were.

"He wanted to see me again; Caine was ready to kill him," as Holden spoke, I felt his eyes dancing across me. He hadn't said anything about us dating at the time, and it seemed he was gauging if he should say anything about how the night ended. I stared determinedly at the TV, hoping the side of my face was screaming at him "I don't care! It's your story, I just live in it! Just stop looking at me that way!" He got up and stretched awkwardly, in what I guessed was his way of hiding how he had been trying to get my attention. He still eyed me continuously as he took a new seat on the carpet, kind of defeated that purpose didn't it Holden?

"A lot of things happened in such a short time, and Vincent kidnapped Caine. He wanted to make a deal, Caine for a night with me. So I did. We talked; he started to tell me things like what Adonis had said to him before he killed him. He seemed to lose confidence in himself then, he told me to stay in the living room because it might be too dangerous to be with him. I lay on the couch in his living room for a while, that night laying there… it all feels so clear to me. Something inside me snapped. I went into his room and told him to tell me about Kisoka and why he did all that he had done. He told me everything and we fell asleep together. I had the strangest dream. The Prince of the Harpies, Yoshiki came to me in my dreams; he told me that when Kisoka asks me for my help, I'm to help her. It would help him because Kisoka was looking for him and the Harpies Queen - Arcana. It would help me because it might help me find a way to help Vincent, 'because that's what I want more than anything right'. So Vincent and I made a deal that in one month he would turn me, and it would keep my family and the rest of my friends safe too." Holden painfully monotonous.

"Holy…" Kelly seemed lost in the moment. "So what happened? Are you actually a vampire? Have you been holding out on me?" Holden laughed in response, but I just fidgeted uncomfortably. She didn't seem too afraid that someone close to her might actually be a vampire, but I was by no means anywhere near as close to her as Holden. I wished suddenly that Holden would say that he was a vampire, just to see how the girl would react. She was fairly cute; I hadn't seen her around much before. Holden said she had just moved out here from the coast. I felt drawn to her; she had the same air of her as Holden. It was everything I could do to not act like an idiot, and I still stammered when she smiled at me…

"No, no. We took the month Vincent gave me to look for information- to find the Harpy Prince, and I was trying to find ways to save Vincent, free him from the prison he put on himself ever since he killed Adonis. Az threw this party, I can't even remember what excuse she used; I had been upstairs looking at Az's parent's photo album, and then something happened... I was possessed; I talked to Az's little sister Coral and she ran away. When she ran out the door towards the woods, I grabbed a knife and went after her, and when Az tried to stop me I- I stabbed her." Holden paused with a solemn look on his face. "Then Dominick came out and tackled me, leaving Coral out there… Caine came out, and Dominick told him to phone an ambulance... apparently when Caine left Dominick just picked me up and left."

"What do you mean by apparently? You don't remember it?" Kelly asked her voice full of curiosity.

"No, I was told almost everything afterwards; I didn't remember a thing. When I woke up I did remember what I did to Azriel, I was horrified. When I woke up I was in Dominick's bed, I was there for a few weeks. I sneaked away once to see Az- but she was scared of me when I got there… She tells me she's fine now, but I can still see glimmers of it in the corner of her eye sometimes. I tried to explain the supernatural parts, show her I wasn't just unstable but when I heard people coming I left and went back to Dominick's apartment. We went out to the church where we first met and grew up, I told him all about Vincent and my dreams of the harpy prince, and he told me about his parents and how they died in the village we were in. We went to a pub... and you know how overly honest I get when I drink." Holden laughed uncomfortably, embarrassment all over his face.

Kelly laughed and poked his forehead, "Of course silly, that's how I met you." she laughed. Holden turned a brighter red as she giggled. I looked away from the TV at that note. I hadn't heard that story, and from the shade of Holden's face it must be a good one. Holden caught me looking at him, I'm sure my face was painted with curiosity. But after the most cryptic look in return, I flashed the meekest smile and went back to pretending to watch TV.

"Anyways, I didn't realize it then but I was the only one drinking. Dominick was asking me a bunch of questions, I eventually told him all about how my pain is reflected on those who cause it, and the way people are so drawn to me, and then… about how I only had 10 days to live. Dominick dragged me up to the church and we ended up sleeping there before we went back. That's when we found out something vital."

"What?" Kelly asked.

"We found out that the harpy prince Yoshiki was actually me" Holden said simply.

"You're what?" Kelly exclaimed as her jaw dropped.

"I'm the harpy prince Yoshiki... it was pretty complicated but part of me was Yoshiki and part of me was me... But the end of the month had come. They, er Kisoka and Sloane, knew that I was a harpy. But I was still with Dom. We were talking about the scar I had on my arm, how it was the same as the one on his face. I had done it one of the times I was hallucinating after I got out of the mental ward. We kissed -" Holden was cut off by Kelly's sharp intake of breath with an excited giggle. Turning very pink again, he looked over at me. I was still staring at the TV determinedly, but I couldn't tell you why there was some guy in a moose costume with underpants over top dancing around. Holden's voice was just so hypnotic.

"He suggested that we run away, away from all of the problems and not go and see Vincent like I said I would. I couldn't… I knew that it would put my family and friends in more danger. And there were only a few hours left." Holden continued, though still kind of pink.

"Go on, go on..." Kelly said quickly, now kneeling on the floor beside the chair me. I'm pretty sure with each passing second she was inching closer and closer to where Holden was sitting cross legged on the floor.

"I knew Vincent was looking for me; I was wandering the streets waiting for him. Kisoka didn't understand why he was still looking for me- he no longer had Adonis possessing his mind from the inside, he was back to "normal". I met up with him and he asked me if I was ready. I told him I was and he wrapped me in his arms inside of his long brown jacket. I snuggled up to him, and I managed to get an apology out for not being able to help him; He smiled at me, and before I could ask him what the smile was for, he had bitten me and was drinking my blood. As he did, he sent me these mental images; they were so soothing, and hypnotic. We were together, he was telling me that he loved me and that he only wanted me to be happy and that as long as he was alive and as long as I loved him I would always be happy. Kisoka tried to stop him; I vaguely heard her screaming for him to stop. But I don't remember what else happened, except she took me to Dom's when Vincent… died from my poisonous blood, and I passed out." Holden said depressingly. He had visibly slumped in his despair; Kelly had sat down apparently feeling guilty for making him relive this. But I could see she couldn't help it, though she had stopped moving closer to him she quickly asked him what happened next. Holden had a small smirk briefly, but he nodded and carried on.

"Kisoka had realized I was Yoshiki, and she told Dom that that meant she was my half-sister. She asked Dom to take care of me while she went to take care of Vincent's body. Dom panicked, and when he was wrapping the wound on my neck from the bite he started wrapping it tighter and tighter trying to choke and kill me. He was scared that the real harpies in Harpy City would find out what hand he had in keeping Arcana hidden and everything else that he had done. But of course, when he tried to choke me, his own throat started to close and he came to his senses and stopped. . ." Holden said drifting off his sentence.

Kelly was back on her knees and slowly she was getting closer to where Holden was. I rolled around in my chair to hang my knees over the backrest and lolled my head around upside down—staring out the window. Vincent had already died—but Kelly wanted the recap to go until present day. She'd totally forgotten how the story had come up.

"That night I dreamed of Vincent and being held in his arms, just floating there in his arms... then Vincent turned into Yoshiki and I felt like I was becoming one with him, and then suddenly Yoshiki tore his claws into my back. I woke up and I was bleeding, thrashing around on the couch. Dom was scared—I was screaming and vertical lines of blood were seeping through my shirt. Wings were forcing their way through my back, Dom tried to stop me from thrashing around and muffle my screams but it was too much, when my wings unfolded I shoved him off me and that couch and I tried to follow him . . . it's so vague because I was more Yoshiki than I was me but I crawled after him, I was weak and I called him a traitor and then I passed out just before Kisoka came back." Holden said, his voice was mystical, and it felt like it was becoming more hypnotic as my eye lids drooped.

"We went into the harpy city, Kisoka, Grendel Dom and I. They didn't want to go through the human posts; they thought it might draw a bit of attention having a half dead harpy prince in the car, so we went in through a secret passage. Grendel was turned away from the city, and Dom was taken to the dungeon because he had Elf-magic around him. I was taken for medical attention and Kisoka went to see the king, our father. Dom was tortured in the dungeons, because the harpies wanted to know about the Elf-magic on him. It lasted for a while but I, well Yoshiki went down there and said that he would never tell them about the elf-magic because he didn't know about it, all the elf-magic was concentrated on the scar on his face placed there years ago by a man who was really an elf, Tobias. Yoshiki ordered them to release Dom, because he was his mate. Before Yoshiki, and I, got to talk to Dom he talked to King Mordecai. He confessed everything about Tobias and his involvement with keeping Arcana captive, killing people who had some of Arcana's power while possessed by the harpy queen, the power of the queen being sealed away in me when she recognized him as her son, my being chased away from the church by the demi-Cerberus. And Kisoka and Yoshiki told Mordecai where Arcana were and left them to decide a course of action." Holden said.

I had become fidgety. I realized this as I changed around my position for the bazillionth time. The TV was forgotten, the window was distant. The rhythmic breathing of Kelly and Holden's hushed, melodic voice were all that I could feel, all I could hear. Kelly made an odd sound, that I couldn't replicate or even hold onto in my mind—yet it clearly communicated to Holden and I both, what happened next?

"Dom stayed with Yoshiki, but it wasn't comforting to him. He said Yoshiki still resembled me a bit, although his hair was more golden and somewhat less boyish, but his personality was distant and untouchable and in control. Dom reminded Yoshiki of my life, the one before he basically took over me. Like how I loved a vampire, and my brother and my friends. Yoshiki was kind to Dom and they slept together . . . well platonically because Yoshiki was still engaged to the blind magician Rahven, who helped Dom with his curse and fight against it. Then she pointed out that no one could ever have Yoshiki because that if the goal is to return Arcana to power they must kill all of those with her magic inside of them, which included me, Yoshiki. Tobias had been busy while all of this had been happening; he had been killing animals and flowers. Arcana needed all her power, so she would be properly back to power, it was spread out through a lot of living things and to regain that power the living thing containing he power needed to be killed in order for her power to return. He had just finished killing Julie a girl we knew who was attacked by a vampire at our school but survived it. He was on his way to kill Coral, and then the last person left. Yoshiki. Dom found this out when Tobias call him when he returned home, he was right then on his way to kill Coral. Dom rushed to stop him, but Tobias had sent a large pack of the very demon that chased me away from the church, demi Cerberus. Caine went insane with his fear of the dog demons since that's how he lost his eye. Dom killed half of them but there was still three left and Coral was unprotected. Tobias managed to pull off a trick and over power Dom who shot Coral—unable to ignore a sudden command. Grendel dealt with the demi-Cerberus remaining then took Coral and ran off saying he could get help." Holden stopped again.

I opened my eyes at the silence. They felt blurry, and I expected the ceiling to swim into view and swirl around—but my vision wasn't as drugged as my body felt. Their breathing pounded in my ears, I prayed for rain, for thunder, for me to not be someone who felt incredibly rude for turning up the TV volume while people were talking.

"What happened to Dom and Tobias?" Kelly said softly, breaking the silence for me.

"Tobias ran off taking Dom with him, when Dom woke up he was at the church. Tobias gave him the gun and told him to end his life like his father did. Tobias left the room as Dom put the gun to his head. Tobias went to where he was keeping Arcana. She had most of her power by then, she had broken the chains that restrained her and there was only the containment field between them. He told her how he was going to kill her son, then take her power, but he was going to kill her son the way the harpies had tortured and killed his wife so many years ago. Arcana looked up and away from him, but before Tobias could see what took her attention, Dom shot him. Dom had realized that his dad had not just killed is mom then killed himself, but that Tobias had a hand in it. As Tobias was dying on the floor he confessed that Dom's dad had some of Arcana's power and he had taken Dom with him because a child was easy to control, Dom shot him again to stop him from saying more. He collapsed there in despair." said Holden.

I gave up with fidgeting on the chair and threw myself on the couch. The magical part of the story was pretty much over, so I stared up at the ceiling and waited for Holden to wrap it up somehow.

"Grendel got Rahven to heal Coral. Yoshiki became aware of how my friends and family were in danger and since he was me and I was him then- Anyways he asked Mordecai if he could go and collect Arcana before they attacked the Elves. Mordecai agreed, and when Yoshiki made it to the church he found Dominick sitting there over Tobias' body crying. He went through the containment field and hugged his mother. She told him to help her escape the prison, and that the elves would be shown no mercy. Yoshiki doubted that it was right to do that, and Arcana started to ask about Dominick. When Yoshiki said that Dom was his mate and that he was to be un harmed, Arcana grabbed him viciously by the neck and told him that Rahven was his mate and that once he helped her out of her prison his duty would be to help her kill Dom. He helped her get out of the field, and told Dom he was sorry, and then started walking around him in a circle telling Arcana how right she was that he was too used to the human emotion of sentiment, and that killing Dom was a wonderful idea, making Dom feel depressed as Yoshiki come to stand in between Dom and Arcana he smiled at Dom and then Dom realized what he was doing. He yelled for him to stop, but he didn't—as Yoshiki told his mother to kill Dom, he shoved Dom out of the way in time for it to hit him instead. The pain-reflection hit her and Arcana stumbled back into the containment field and enraged at what Yoshiki had done she blasted at the walls with spells that ricocheted off and hit the walls, and the cavern beneath the church started to crumble, without the power inside of Coral and Yoshiki she couldn't escape. Dominick dragged Yoshiki out of the cavern before it collapsed and buried Arcana alive." Holden paused again.

All through the story Holden had kept looking at me. I knew this story, most of it. I lived it, but damn it if it hadn't been spellbinding. I had never heard about all of it before. It was amazing what I had missed while out trying to figure out this new life. I could understand why Kelly wanted to see the conclusion up to present day—what else had I missed? Still, I couldn't help but notice that Holden hadn't said anything about my being a vampire, being turned by Vincent when he kidnapped Caine as proof of how serious he was-or even that Vincent had turned any of his friends . Or that we happened to be dating at the time of Vincent's return, and how even though I normally preferred girls he had inadvertently pulled me in, or the extent of our relationship. . . Ignoring that, I again listened to silence. Holden and Kelly's breathing was so telling of their feelings. Holden's breath was short and low; he was tired from talking so much but trying to hide it. Kelly's was carefully measured trying to hide her excitement. My own breathing, it was boring. I lolled my head again, slipping it off the couch to openly pay attention to the story and look at Holden.

"While Yoshiki was healing, Dom wasn't allowed to go and see him. Azriel and Caine were brought in soon. When they came in, they didn't see much of a difference in me, except that my wings were still intact. I was me again. After talking with them, I told Dominick I was leaving with them. It was best because the harpies didn't know that he had provoked the attack, and it could be disastrous if they knew that it wasn't just that Arcana was confused in her weakened state but the truth. I had already talked about this with King Mordecai, and he agreed that it was best too. Plus, since it was revealed that Kisoka was also the heir to the throne, she could stay and become the next ruler if she chose, and she would have to pass an order to allow her mate in the city" Holden laughed. Kelly smiled at Holden a bit emptily, Holden not realizing he hadn't explained Grendel and Kisoka being together, or even why Grendel couldn't be in the city. But I smirked back up at the ceiling as I remembered that joke from when this was all happening.

"We went home. Caine and I, and Azriel took time off from school too. Sloane over there was the trooper and went back to school" Holden said with a smile on his face. I tried to examine Kelly's, see if she'd question why I was a trooper for being on the fringe of such an amazing story for all she knew—but nothing showed in her face.

"Dom went home, trying to sort out what he learned about his parents' death. I didn't really get to see him for a while, and I tried to get back to my old life. That's when the scar I mentioned being on my disappeared, and all there was was to mourn Vincent's death... though it was kind of hard then because I didn't quite remember Vincent dying, but I found out where Kisoka buried him and the family had put a memorial marker. Dom met up with me and we went to the graveyard—we had to start over, and he wanted to be there through everything with me which was starting with closure of Vincent's death." Holden said his voice soft and quiet.

"So what happened after that?" Kelly asked, no longer quiet and full of anticipation but excited sensing a 'and they all lived happily ever—until where we are now' coming.

"Well that was a year ago, and not much has happened, I see Dom now and then—like you know, since you've met him. We haven't heard any news from any Harpies; we've been left alone to get back to some semblance of normal." Holden shrugged, before glancing at me quickly.

"Whoa..." Kelly seemed to be speechless.

I rolled over onto my stomach and looked at the two. Kelly was smiling but she was looking down at her knees on the floor. Holden was leaning against the chair where Sloane had been sitting a while ago; he seemed to be lost in thought too.

"Your life is so freaking cool!" Kelly suddenly bubbled before jumping onto Holden in her forceful hug.

Those words always burned in my mind. Caine's angry voice rang through my head whenever I was with Kelly.

'You gave your heart to a vampire, what did you expect him to do?'

I had always been a bit afraid of rejection. Holden gave me those befuddled feelings for nearly a year before I did anything about it. Now it seemed to be intensified. What if when Kelly found out I was a vampire, she left me right away, despite who I am as a person? I wouldn't just be getting rejected on who I am, but possibly in spite of who I am as a person. Shit, am I even a person now? Some people never see past the fangs—why should I expect her to? Has there been a vampire more emo and whiny than I'm being? Oh, right, sparkles. Is that what I'm reduced to now? Should I go buy some body glitter?

I rolled over on the cool grass, staring up at the faint dark circle of the new moon. I pushed myself up and brushed off my pants.